Telemark skiing (also known as free heel skiing) is a form of skiing using skis with a binding that connects the boot to the ski only at the toes, much as in cross-country skiing. The defining action is referred to as the Telemark turn. Telemark turns are led with the heel flat on the outside ski (the downhill ski at the end of the turn), while the inside (uphill) ski is pulled beneath the skier's body with a flexed knee and raised heel. The skis are staggered but not quite parallel, and 50% to 60% of the body weight is distributed on the outside ski, depending on snow conditions.
Telemark skiing is an incredible challenge to the legs because the skier is essentially always in motion—making a lunging movement over and over again down the side of a mountain. Each time the skier makes a turn, he/she must change the lead leg to execute the turn. Because of the extra gravity (g-force) that is involved in doing this down a mountain, the skier is doing lunges with his bodyweight plus about 12-15% in the case of a difficult run. For example, skiing a run of about 2000 vertical feet would require a turn (lead leg change) every two or three seconds. That means a 175 pound athlete on Telemark skis doing a run with that vertical drop would be doing about 200 lunges (turns) in about 8 minutes with an effective bodyweight of 200 pounds (his bodyweight+0.15 g). In a full day of skiing, it would not be unusual to ski 20,000 vertical feet of terrain (2,000 turns/lunges done with bodyweight+15%). Needless to say, training for this load is difficult and muscle memory and efficiency of movement is critical.
The most common Telemark ski training involves lunges in the gym. However, lunges are a poor approximation of the Telemark movement because it is difficult if not impossible to slide your feet from lunge to lunge. This results is a poor translation of the actual sport and virtually no improvement in the “muscle memory” (i.e. the brain-muscle connection for doing the movement as you would do in the actual sport).
In spite of the difficulties noted above, ski training devices for alpine and Nordic skiing are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,566 discloses a roller ski training device which effectively simulates weighting, unweighting, and edging techniques of the downhill parallel snow skiing. The device includes a support frame, a pair of parallel elongated foot plates pivotally carried in side by side relation by said support frame, and rollers flexibly coupled to the underside of the support frame whereby the shifting of weight by a user to the foot plate on one side of the device tends to cause the device to turn in the direction of the other side. The flexible roller coupling further permits tilting of the frame, with the resultant raising and lowering of the foot plates, in response to the shifting of weight from one foot plate to the other. Parallel linkage is connected to the underside of the foot plates to synchronize pivotal and vertical positioning of the foot plates such as to maintain them in parallel planes at all times. In one embodiment, the foot plates are further supported for limited longitudinal movement with respect to the support frame and each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,183 discloses a ski training device which comprises a generally horizontal support plate, oscillating about a principal axis of symmetry, and two sole plates on which rest the feet of a user, carried pivotally on the support plate respectively on one side and the other of a plane of symmetry passing through the principal pivoting axis of the support plate, about respective auxiliary axes generally perpendicular to the upper surface of the support plate. Alternating pivotings of the sole plates about their respective axes, induced by the user, are accompanied by an alternating rocking of the support plate about the associated principal axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,313 discloses a parallel ski training or exercise apparatus is described. The ski training device provides the combination of parallel motion, edging, and weight shifting that characterizes downhill parallel skiing. Two foot platforms are mounted on a base, on independent rotation axes centered about the balls of the user's feet. The foot platforms are constrained to rotate together, i.e. their longitudinal axes remain parallel. The foot platforms can tilt from side to side to simulate the edging motion of downhill parallel skiing. Varying amounts of resistance to rotation and to tilting can be obtained by changing the springs or other devices that bias the foot platforms to straight-ahead and level alignment. The base of the parallel ski training device can be tilted to an angle by a support having a circular arc or hemispherical shape. With the front of the base raised, the user's ankles assume the leaning forward attitude that is used in parallel skiing. Rocking of the base from side to side simulates the change in attitude that occurs as a skier changes direction on a downhill slope.
Rollers for bicycle training are also known. Such rollers typically comprise a frame with three or four rollers, typically arranged with a pair of rearward rollers positioned a distance apart that allows a rear bicycle wheel to roll and be supported thereon during training, and one or a pair of forward rollers positioned to allow a front bicycle wheel to roll and be supported thereon during training, with the distance between the rear rollers and the forward roller(s) being dictated by the distance between the rear and front wheels of a bicycle.
As indicated above, ski trainers are not optimal for Telemark ski training because such trainers are not really leg strength trainers because, while they may simulate actual skiing, they fail to effectively train and strengthen the legs for skiing. Similarly, bicycle rollers are not optimal for Telemark ski training because they do not allow the simultaneous forward and backward movement of Telemark skis, do not properly support a pair of independently-moving, full length Telemark skis, and do not allow a skier to remain centered on the device while training.
A need therefore exists for a Telemark ski training device that provides a vigorous Telemark workout in a simple, inexpensive package. The present invention addresses that need.